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Thomas Ashvale
Thomas Ashvale was the second son of Jordan and Mira Ashvale, and an anointed paladin defender of Lordaeron. He earned several honors during the second war at the battles of Hillsbrad and Southshore, and had an extraordinary military career until his death in the year 620 K.C. Thomas was captured and later executed by Commander Terrence Bishop of the Bloody Dawn. After his death, Sir Thomas's corpse was sent to Sylvanas Windrunner to be raised by her feared Val'kyr, and forced to serve in death, those he had fought so valiantly against in life. Following the massacre of the Bloody Dawn and its former Commander at the battle of Edenfield, Sir Thomas assumed the mantle of Dread Commander, and began recruiting soldiers to rebuild the Bloody Dawn. Appearance At nearly six and a half feet tall, Thomas towers over lesser men, and in full armor, he is a veritable giant on the field of battle. Though it is unknown whether he is a true forsaken or some horribly created Death Knight, Thomas' single good eye is an eerie, pale blue, and is said to glow faintly in the darkness beneath his greathelm. Some say he is naught but a wraith in a suit of darkened plate, while others suspect he is the product of Sylvanas' experimentation, but no one has seen his face since he took up the mantle of Dread Commander. In battle, he wields a massive, spiked warhammer. Weighing an astonishing 25 pounds, and at more that five feet in length, the weapon is easily capable of crushing his foes or simply cleaving them in two with enough force behind a swing. In a blackened scabbard on his sword belt rests a dark steel bastard sword, often referred to as Apocalypse by his forsaken comrades. The blade's ornate crossguard is shaped to resemble the wings of a black dragon. A Cruel Twist of Fate Once a valiant Knight of the Silver hand, Sir Thomas was a scion of hope for the people of Ashfort City during the rise of the scourge. Through his skill in combat and his mastery of the Holy Light, the Knight earned a well-deserved reputation among his fellow paladins, and despite being offered a Lordship of his own, thrice refused reward for his service. In the Winter of the year 619, Sir Thomas was leading a scouting party along Tirisfal's Northern coastline in seach of a clear path on which they could march an army to retake The Ashfort. He and his men were set upon by two hundred soldiers of the Bloody Dawn, and Thomas was the only man to survive the ambush. He was captured, and tortured by Dread Commander Terrence Bishop, but refused to give any information. For six days, Bishop subjected him to unimaginable pain and cruelty, and on the evening of the sixth day, the Dread Commander lost his patience, and slew the valiant Knight. His broken body was transported to the Undercity, where Sylvanas' feared Val'kyr were waiting to perform their grim task. Sir Thomas was to be risen to serve those he so valiantly fought against in life, but for Bishop, this was not enough. A powerful Death Knight, the Dread Commander proposed that they should use Sir Thomas as a weapon to inspire fear among the stubborn humans that still clung to their lands in Lordaeron. The ritual was performed by Bishop himself, and Thomas was imbued with the Dark, Unholy powers of a Death Knight. With no memory of his past, and not a shred of humanity remaining within him, Thomas Ashvale was unleashed upon the very people whose lives he had sacrificed his own to defend. Current Events As with many, Thomas' memories of the past did gradually return, but by then, the former paladin had become far too twisted to make sense of them. Driven by malice and an unquenchable thirst for violence, Thomas was largely left to his own devices, and led a small contingent of the Bloody Dawn on a merciless campaign against the remaining members of the Scarlet Crusade in Tirisfal. After learning of Bishop's fate at battle of Edenfield, Thomas took up the mantle of Dread Commander, and led the few soldiers he had to his family's former Castle, the Ashfort. From the ruined Castle by the sea, Ashvale has begun recruiting soldiers from within the ranks of the forsaken, including a number of Death Knights who formerly served the Horde in an effort to rebuild the Bloody Dawn and finish the work Commander Bishop had begun. Independence When the Ceasefire between the Horde and Alliance prompted Sylvanas to order the Bloody Dawn disbanded, Thomas reportedly severed all ties with the Dark Lady, and acted independently of the Forsaken and the new Horde. Those who are privy to the truth know that this is merely a ruse, and that the Dread Commander has always been a loyal servant of Sylvanas. However, in the interest of politics, he cannot be seen to be acting on her orders. Unlike his predecessor, Commander Ashvale is said to be motivated by the sole desire to inflict pain and suffering on those he once protected in life. He intends to rebuild the Bloody Dawn and lay waste to every remaining human settlement in Lordaeron. Category:Characters Category:Lordaeronian Category:Paladins Category:Deceased Category:Lordaeron Peerage Category:Forsaken Category:Criminals Category:War Criminals